The present invention relates to a battery connector, and more specifically, to a battery connector used for engagement and connection to a mating connector mounted on a circuit board.
Generally, batteries contained in portable telephones consist of one of two types of configurations. These configurations consist of battery packs in which batteries are contained in the back cover of portable telephones, and batteries that are separately disposed on the side of the back cover of portable telephones. The batteries are connected to a circuit board disposed inside the main body of the portable telephone by engaging and connecting a battery connector connected to the batteries to a mating connector mounted on the circuit board.
One conventional battery connector of this type is shown in FIG. 7 (see Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. H7-192797). The battery connector 100 has a housing 110 having a plurality of contact accommodating cavities 111. A plurality of contacts 120 is attached inside the contact accommodating cavities 111. Each of the contacts 120, formed by stamping and bending a metal plate, has a plate-form base part 121 fastened in the housing walls of the contact accommodating cavity 111.
A board connection part 122 is connected by means of soldering to a circuit board (not shown) that is connected to the battery and extends from the lower part of the rear end of the base part 121. A contact part 123 contacts a tab-form mating contact (not shown) of a mating connector and extends from the lower part of the front end of the base part 121. The board connection part 122 has a flat-plate part 124. The flat plate part extends rearward from the lower part of the rear end of the base part 121 and is bent in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the base part 121. The board connection part 122 also has a leg part 125 that extends rearward from the lower end of the flat-plate part 124 and is connected by soldering to the circuit board.
The contact part 123 has an elastic spring part 126 that extends diagonally to the outside of the plane of thickness of the base part 121 from the lower part of the front end part of the base part 121. A tip end part 128 is bent toward the opposite side from the contact surface of the elastic spring part 126. The tab-form mating contacts of the mating connector enter the interiors of the contact accommodating cavities 111 formed in the housing 110. The mating contacts elastically contact the contact surfaces 127 of the contact parts 123 of the contacts 120. As a result, the battery and the circuit board (not shown) on the mating side are electrically connected.
Because the leg parts 125, which constitute the soldering parts of the contacts 120, are bent from the lower ends of the flat-plate parts 124 that extend from the lower parts of the rear ends of the plate-form base parts 121 that have a relatively large area, the soldering area available for the circuit board is relatively small, causing the soldering strength to be low. Hence, the battery connector 100 may come loose from the circuit board as a result of an impact caused by dropping, etc. Further, attaching separate reinforcing members (not shown) to the housing 110 requires that the reinforcing members be soldered to the circuit board thereby requiring an increase in area occupied by the battery connector 100 on the board. Because the soldering positions of the leg parts 125 are biased with respect to the center, in the short direction on the bottom surface of the battery connector 100, the balance of the soldering positions with respect to the battery connector 100 is also poor. In cases where the mating connector is engaged from the front, there is a danger that the front end side of the housing 110 will float.
It is therefore desirable to develop a battery connector where the soldering strength of the contacts with respect to the circuit board is increased so that no separate reinforcing members are required. It is also desirable to have a battery connector in which the area occupied by the battery connector on the board can be reduced, and in which the balance of the soldering positions on the bottom surface of the connector can be improved.
This invention relates to a battery connector equipped with an insulating housing. Contacts are attached to the housing and are soldered to a circuit board. Each of the contacts has a flat-plate-form base part and a pair of side wall parts that rise from both sides of the base part. A pair of contact arms extend, facing each other, from the side wall parts of the pair of side wall parts, and contact mating contacts. The bottom surface of the base part forms a soldering surface that is soldered to the circuit board.